The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-03-17
STAMMERlNG.
What an Elocutionist Says
About Defects in Speech.
stammering Cured Through the Moral
as Well as tbs Physical Nature.

tion," lady teacher Of clocution who
has had under her caro- many young
ladies and gentlemen suffering with
such defects Of speech, said to WASH
ington Star reporter, ''arc due to the
improper use of the vocal organs. Some
timo these three defects are found to-
gcthcr. Stammering is tho worst diff.
Guilty. Sometimes stammering appears
in one form and sometimes in another;
in fact no two cases are precisely alike.
Tho worst prevalent infrmity-it is
really an infirmity-is the wrong use Of
the lip, too much lip ycu may say. You
see face that might otherwise be hand
some, disfgured by habit of lifting Up
the upper lip on one side SO as TO show
the canine tooth. Another infrmity is
lack of proper control over the move
ments of the tongue. No, not too loose
a tongue. The trouble is that the tongue
is not loose enough, not flexible enough.
Very few, even among educated people,
speak correctly, that is, articulato Eng
lish sounds correctly and speak pure
English, and yet the people in this coun-
try speak better English than is spoken
in England.
| "Whencver any one announces that
he will cure stammering and suffering
by means of artificial appliances, or by
some secret remedy, or by drugs Of any
kind" said the lady, "you can set him
down as a quack. Drugs will no
moro cure stammering than
they will set limb, for really the
cure of stammering comes very near
being a surgical operation. in sense,
because it is the restoration Of the vocal
organs to their proper functions. The
trouble is with the tongue and tho lips
and the closing of the throat. These
organs become dcnaturalizcd in their
use. Incvcr take a case without having
responsible physician first examine the
throat. After he pronounces the organs
normal and in proper condition for me
10 work, undertake the case. I have
seldom had case in which there was
not some work for the physician to do,
for the reason that tho wrong use of the
vocal organs causes them to be diseased.
Bronchitis and throat diseases are in
many cases due to the wrong use Of tho
organs.
''Thc cure" sho went on, 'is within
the persons self and depends upon his
moralsas we'll MS physical nature. You
must lift up his moral nature. Most of
those who suffer from these defects you
will notice are loose -knccd and walk with
shambling gait, with heads down. all the
effect of this iniirmity. The first thing
l try to do is to lift the person up, to
make him free, for his moral nature
dominates his physical. My system is
simple, philosophical and highly moral
in its nature. No youth can possibly
pass through it without having his moral
rs well as physical self benefited. All
sufferers from these defects are exceed
ingly sensitive, one of the results of their
infrmity. To person of culture and re-
finement such an infirmity is more ter
rible.
1t is almost impossible to know what
causes the defects. ask parents always
when they bring cases to me, if they
can tell what caused it. Some say that
it came from feve: and variety of sup.
posed causes arc given. Sometimes it
is the effect of imitation. 1t is frequent
ly known to exist in families for several
generations. Defects of this character
when inherited arc harder to cure, and
when inherited from the mother, the
hardest of ALL The most difficult case
4. ever had was ono of this kind. 1t il
thought by many who have not in
formed themselves that stammering is
caused by nervousness. II that were true
nearly all women and great many men
and children would stammcr. On the
contrary, however, it is proved clearly
that the stammerng or defect in speech
causes the nervousness. I am of the
opinion from observation that tho habit
is very infrequcntly contracted by imita-
tiop, for the reason that often one child
in family will stammer and tho others
will not. The older brother perhap,
will have the defect and not one of the
other children will stammer, though
they have been together always. What
ever the cause, when cure is once es-
tablished there is no more danger of &
return Of the defect or habit, than there
is of its occurrence in person who never
stammercd at ALL.
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